Qualifying Report - Double Whammy

By Dan Knutson

Sebastian Vettel's fading championship hopes suffered a double whammy in Texas. First, points leader Lewis Hamilton won the pole for the United States Grand Prix. Second, while Vettel clocked the second fast fastest lap time, a penalty would drop him to fifth place on the grid.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari – Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull TAG Heuer – Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Racing Point Force India Mercedes – Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon; Williams Mercedes –Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin; Renault – Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz; Toro Rosso Honda – Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly; Haas Ferrari – Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault – Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Sauber Ferrari – Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc.

Vettel would get a three-place grid penalty for not slowing sufficiently for a red flag in FP1. And Gasly and Hartley would move to the back of the grid because of engine changes.

Charlie Whiting explained Vettel's penalty to Sky TV as follows: "It was a new rule for this year. It is just an extension of the rules that we apply to SC and VSC situations. So what the drivers have to do now under the red flag is exactly what they have been doing for years under SC and VSC. They have to follow a speed that has been sent to their dashboards. They have a reference lap, and they have to stay positive to their reference lap – slower than the reference lap. And Seb didn't."

QUALIFYING 1

Vettel was fastest in FP3 earlier in the day with a lap of 1:33.797 on Pirelli's ultra soft tires. The soft and super soft compounds were the other options for the weekend.

The ambient temperature at the start of qualifying was 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Centigrade).

Q1 lasted 18 minutes. Hartley was the first on track.

There was a panic in the Ferrari garage when Raikkonen's engine would not start, but the mechanics sorted things out and he also was on track early. He turned a time of 1:34.938 on the ultra soft tires. Vettel, also on the ultras, beat that with a 1:34.569.

Hamilton's ultra rub produced a 1:34.176, which put him first ahead of Bottas, Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Ricciardo and Sainz.

With just under six minutes remaining, Hartley was 15th and on the cutoff line with Alonso 16th and Leclerc 14th.

Bad news for Verstappen who limped back to the pits with the right rear suspension broken.

No such woes for Hamilton who improved marginally to a 1:34.130.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q1 were: Alonso, Sirotkin, Stroll, Ericsson and Vandoorne.

The fastest 15 drivers who moved on to Q2 were: Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel, Ricciardo, Verstappen, Gasly, Ocon, Sainz, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Leclerc, Perez and Hartley.

QUALIFYING 2

Out of the running was Verstappen whose car could not be repaired in time for him to get out in Q2.

The Mercedes drivers, Ricciardo and Vettel were on the super soft tires – so that they could use them for the start of the race.

Raikkonen was on the ultras and did a 1:32.884, which put him ahead of Vettel, Bottas and Hamilton.

Hamilton then had another run on the same set of rubber and moved up to third.

With just over five minutes remaining, Hulkenberg was tenth and on the bubble with Ocon ninth and Sainz 11th.

After a flurry of activity at the end of the session, the five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Sainz, Magnussen, Gasly, Hartley and Verstappen.

The fastest 10 drivers who moved on to Q3 were: Raikkonen, Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Grosjean, Ocon, Perez and Hulkenberg.

QUALIFYING 3

Q3 lasted 12 minutes. All the drivers, of course, would be on the ultra soft tires for this final session.

Bottas, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Vettel were on the track in that order.

Bottas turned a 1:32.686; Hamilton a 1:32.567; Raikkonen a 1:33.024; and Vettel a 1:32.665.

So the order after the first runs was Hamilton (with a new qualifying lap record), Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Perez and, having not done a time yet, Leclerc.

The final runs saw Bottas, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Vettel on track in that order. And their time were: 1:32.616; 1:32.307; 1:32.237 and 1:32.298.

So the top 10 qualifiers were: Hamilton, Vettel Raikkonen, Bottas, Ricciardo, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Leclerc and Perez. And Vettel's penalty would move him down to fifth.